Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $3.49 Million in Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 113,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,494,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Music Group by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. 96.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Warner Music Group from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Warner Music Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.38.

Warner Music Group Stock Down 1.3%

WMG stock opened at $31.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 12 month low of $23.34 and a 12 month high of $35.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.22.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Warner Music Group had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 62.01%. Warner Music Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Music Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Warner Music Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.41%.

Warner Music Group Profile

Warner Music Group is a major global music company that operates across recorded music and music publishing. Its recorded-music business comprises a portfolio of well-known labels—including Atlantic, Warner Records and Parlophone—as well as distribution and artist-services operations that support both established and emerging artists. The company’s publishing arm, Warner Chappell Music, manages songwriting catalogs and administers rights for compositions across multiple media, providing licensing for film, television, advertising and other commercial uses.

WMG’s activities span the full music value chain: signing and developing artists, producing and marketing recordings, distributing music through physical channels and streaming platforms, and monetizing rights through licensing, synchronization and neighboring-rights collection.